The reigning ITU world champion, Javier Gomez (ESP) will garner a lot of attention with his start. Gomez is one of the premier triathletes of this era, has no weakness in his arsenal of skills and should make a huge impact on the race dynamics once the start gun goes off.

The women’s field will see last year’s winner, Heather Wurtele, emerge from the Canadian winter to spend some time in a warmer climate. The Canuck will have her hands full with Angela Naeth (CAN), Cat Morrison (GBR). Mary Beth Ellis (USA), Heather Jackson (USA) Natascha Badmann, Montceli Ariane (BRA), along with Rebeccah and Laural Wassner (USA).

Visit the IRONMAN 70.3 Panama event page for more information about the course, professional ranking points, prize purse and age group qualifying slots. Check back on Sunday and follow the action on the athlete tracker. Join the race day conversation on FaceBook and Twitter using #IM703Panama.

New Transfer Program Announced in North America

IRONMAN has launched a pilot program in the United States and Canada that will allow athletes to transfer their entries to other open North American events.

"This program was designed in response to athlete feedback we’ve received over the years," says IRONMAN CEO Andrew Messick. "We understand that athletes want to race with us, but sometimes life gets in the way–injuries happen, weddings pop up or a job takes them across the country. With the transfer program we hope to address these issues by allowing IRONMAN athletes to transfer to another open race in North America. If they have a simple date conflict, they can move sooner or later in the calendar. If they have an injury, they can move down to a 70.3 distance or postpone to a later race. We’re trying to give our athletes every opportunity to get in a race with IRONMAN."

Alexander and Moffat Head to Geelong

Five time IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 world champion, Craig Alexander, towered above a strong field last weekend in his splendid win at IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong, while Emma Moffat was in a league of her own, cruisingto victory by over 12 minutes.

Docherty, the double Olympic medalist in 2004 and 2008, will return to his home town of Taupo where he won on debut last year, setting a new course record in the process. It was a dream start to his IRONMAN career following on from his third place finish in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in 2012.

His victory in Taupo did not flow on to bigger and better things in his two major quests last year, at the 70.3 Worlds and GoPro IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii. He failed to finish both: illness proved costly at Las Vegas while his nutrition failed him and he ran out of fuel in Hawaii.

"It certainly wasn’t the finish to the season that I had planned," Docherty said. "I was in terrific shape, but this endurance stuff, particularly IRONMAN, is new to me. I said when I took it up that I was confident about swim, bike and run, but there’s a fourth discipline which is nutrition that is new to me. I’m learning all the time and I am pleased with my training. I am strong and things are tracking well for me."

He has another incentive with his father Ray also competing in the 30th anniversary event.

Carfrae and Ward Collect Hardware at Endurance LIVE Awards

The 2013 IRONMAN world champion, Mirinda Carfrae, was awarded the "Competitor of the Year" at the Endurance LIVE Awards in San Diego last weekend, acknowledging her second GoPro IRONMAN World Championship title and out-splitting the men’s champion in the marathon for the first time in Kona history.

Hines Ward claimed the "Celebrity Athlete of the Year" statue. The Super Bowl MVP, two-time Super Bowl Champion and Dancing with the Stars Champion, took on the biggest challenge of his life, completing the IRONMAN World Championship last October.

Galindez Family Welcome New Addition

Multiple IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 champion, Oscar Galindez (ARG) and his wife Lisa, welcomed their third child, Lorenzo, into the world earlier this week. Congrats to the South American family from the IRONMAN community.

From Horrific Car Accident to IRONMAN New Zealand

Greg Hadley, 57, a Taupo District Council worker will be competing at the 30th edition of IRONMAN New Zealand next month. Hadley's attributes his healthy lifestyle in aiding his survival and recover from a vehicle accident in 2011.